McQuaid believes 2009 Tour de France was raced clean

Pat McQuaid, the president of the International Cycling Union (UCI), indicated that there were no positive doping controls at this year's Tour de France, and he expects that to be the wave of the future for the world's biggest bike race.

"At this point in time I haven't heard of any positive tests at this year's Tour de France, or that we're checking samples to confirm positives," he said.

"It's looking like the Tour de France will not have any positive tests for a number of years.

"I think that's a big step forward for cycling."

Doping scandals have been polluting the headlines of professional cycling for the past several years, prompting the UCI to make cycling the first sport to develop a blood passport system that monitors athletes' blood values, rather than looking for a specific drug.

"It's been a difficult moment for cycling because of the doping scandals, but I think we're coming out of it and going into a good period," McQuaid added, referring to the sponsorship losses that have occurred in the wake of each scandal.

The latest scandal involves Italian Danilo Di Luca, who tested positive for the third generation EPO Cera twice during the Giro d'Italia, prompting his team's main sponsor LPR Brakes to end it's involvement with the sport after 2009.